President George W. Bush today announced the nomination of six
individuals and his intention to designate one individual to serve in
his administration:

The President has nominated Robert McFarland, of Texas, to be
Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Information & Technology).
Mr. McFarland previously served as vice president for government
relations with Dell Computer Corporation, where he earlier served as
general manager for the government sector. Earlier in his career, Mr.
McFarland served two years active duty in the U.S. Army, and continued
to serve two more years on reserve status. He received his bachelor's
degree from LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas.

The President has nominated Susan Johnson Grant, of Virginia, to be
Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Energy. She currently
serves as Director for Corporate Resources for the Defense Finance and
Accounting Service, where she also previously served as program
manager. Earlier in her career, she served as a budget analyst for the
Under Secretary of Defense at the Pentagon. Ms. Grant studied
financial management at the Professional Military Comptroller School in
Montgomery, Alabama. She participated in a Senior Executive Fellows
Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and went on to
study Executive Development at the Federal Executive Institute, in
Charlottesville, Virginia.

The President has nominated Marguerita Dianne Ragsdale, of
Virginia, to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the
United States of America to the Republic of Djibouti. She currently
serves as Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Khartoum.
She previously served as Chief of the Political Section at the U.S.
Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa. Earlier in her career, she served
as Deputy Director of the Office of Arabian Peninsula Affairs at the
Department of State. Ms. Ragsdale is a graduate of the American
University; she earned her master's degree and her Ph.D. from the
University of Virginia, and her law degree from Columbia University.

The President has nominated Margaret Scobey, of Tennessee, to be
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of
America to the Syrian Arab Republic. Ms. Scobey currently serves as
Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia. She previously served as Director of the Office of Arabian
Peninsula at the Department of State. Earlier in her career, she
served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Sanaa, Yemen and as Political
Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait. Ms. Scobey earned both her
bachelor's and her master's degrees from the University of Tennessee,
Knoxville.

The President has nominated Margaret DeBardeleben Tutwiler, of
Alabama, to be Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy. Ms.
Tutwiler most recently served as U.S. Ambassador to Morocco. Prior to
serving as Ambassador, she was Assistant to the President and Special
Advisor for Communications at the White House. Earlier, Ms. Tutwiler
served as Senior Vice President for Public Affairs for the Cellular
Telecommunications Industry Association. Her previous Presidential
Appointments include Assistant to the President for Communications from
1992 until 1993 and Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
from 1989 until 1992. Ms. Tutwiler is a graduate of the University of
Alabama.

The President has nominated Drew R. McCoy, of Massachusetts, to be
a Member of the Board of Trustees of the James Madison Memorial
Fellowship Foundation (Academic), for the remainder of a six-year term
expiring November 22, 2007.

The President intends to designate Jeffrey E. Phillips, of Texas,
to be Acting Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs (Public and
Intergovernmental Affairs).